The present invention relates to a door hinge for use on side door containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a door hinge having features which allow the hinge to support a side door on a container to assist in opening and closing of the side door while permitting easy cleaning of the area adjacent the hinge.
Previous hinge constructions are described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,245,376 to Otte; 1,263,203 to Burnett; 1,282,233 to Kehoe; 1,380,587 to Phillips; 1,685,002 to Matranga; 1,715,538 to Dean et al.; 2,652,587 to Petersen; 3,633,244 to Grossman; 3,651,537 to Nichols; 4,033,476 to Greenquist; and 4,223,421 to Wassenaar.
By the present invention, there is provided an improved hinge assembly for use on containers on which a door is located along one side wall of the container.
The features of the side door hinge of the present invention include the following: removable hinge rod for complete cleaning with rod held in place by a removable end mechanical retaining member; full length support for the door; end cap and hinge can be completely welded to pass sanitary construction specifications; enables use of aluminum or stainless steel rods; permits use of stainless steel hinge rod on aluminum containers; hinge rod can turn or rotate in end support areas or caps thereby avoiding binding or bending when installing door; hinge assembly area is easily cleaned; and an alternate design for the door hinge may employ "half moon" or "full" sections as required to make the door permanently mounted when using a removable end snap ring. The present invention employs a continuous horizontal hinge rod which opens the hinge area up for cleaning and continuous hinge support.